Generations of Nine-Tails, aren't you afraid?

Konoha ninjas were certainly not blind, but someone had made them pretend to be.

"Two advisors, please stay here and wait until everything is over."

In the Hokage Office, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu looked at the ninjas surrounding them and sighed deeply.

Hiruzen had barely left before Danzo's men arrived, as if the two had coordinated it.

The biggest problem was that these ninjas blocking their path... came from the very clans that supported them!

The surrounding Anbu had also arrived, but without their orders, they dared not make a move.

A Jonin said to the two advisors: "Lord Danzo received news that the Third has tasked Tsunade with researching a way to break the Caged Bird, and it should be on its way to the Hyuga clan by now."

"What did Danzo do to Tsunade?!" Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura widened their eyes. "Tsunade must not be harmed!"

"We know, and that person knows too, so rest assured."

Another Jonin said in a low voice: "Tsunade is the princess of Konoha, the princess of the Land of Fire; we will not lay a hand on her."

"We don't need much, but the things the First Hokage promised us vanished with his death and the subsequent political shifts; some of our rights have been gradually reclaimed."

"And now, what does the Third want to do? Uproot us entirely?"

Most clans did not identify with the Hyuga Branch Family, but with the Hyuga Main Family; the branch family were merely servants to the main house, a fact they had long grown accustomed to.

What was the Third trying to achieve by researching a way to break the Caged Bird? To destroy the Hyuga Main Family?

If that happened... once the Hyuga Main Family was gone, would they be next?

"Hiruzen would never do such a thing. You should know very well that clans cannot be wiped out. His move to break the Caged Bird must be to guard against Danzo."

Utatane Koharu shook her head, her expression complex. "When a commoner ninja becomes powerful, they leave behind their own potent secret techniques, and as their descendants grow through these techniques, a Secret Technique Clan is gradually formed."

"Bloodline Clans, meanwhile, rely on their unique bloodline inheritance to occupy a place in the Shinobi World. As long as the bloodline exists, there is always a chance for a resurgence, making them even harder to eliminate. Therefore... as long as ninjas exist, clans will never disappear!"

"But only when old clans perish can new ones find the soil and space to be born."

A withered figure appeared in the room, causing Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura to frown. "Elder Sarutobi?"

The man was Sarutobi Masaaki, an elder of the Sarutobi Clan who supported them.

"Two, Hiruzen is weakening the power of the Sarutobi Clan. He took two-thirds of the clan's strength to the front lines, but according to intelligence provided by Danzo, that is not a place where ordinary ninjas can survive."

"He also pushed Minato, a commoner ninja, to the top. Combined with this business regarding the Hyuga clan, we cannot trust him."

All three matters were direct or indirect strikes against the clans; if they did not strike back now, perhaps the next turn would be one of theirs.

Hearing this, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura looked at each other, not knowing how to respond.

Sarutobi Masaaki leaned on his cane, his cloudy eyes fixed on the two. "And you must understand: if the Hokage has sufficient power, as long as he is in office, his own family will be the strongest clan in Konoha."

"Namikaze Minato is young and powerful, and with Hiruzen paving the way, he could remain in the seat of Hokage for a very, very long time. And the child he has with Kushina will undoubtedly be a genius—a genius who inherits the Uzumaki bloodline!"

"You know better than I how terrifying the Uzumaki bloodline is. Only they are the best candidates for the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and the Nine-Tails... will be passed down through their family for generations!"

The scene described by Sarutobi Masaaki's words struck their minds directly; the two advisors felt a chill creeping in from all sides, and their brows furrowed instantly.

What this old man said was not alarmist; it was a truly possible future.

Compared to searching the Shinobi World for survivors of the Uzumaki Clan, it was better to have Kushina's children and descendants serve as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

No one could say for sure how many Uzumaki were left in the Shinobi World, and no one could guarantee that those brought back wouldn't lean toward Minato and Kushina due to their care, effectively accelerating the rise of the Namikaze line.

But Kushina's descendants would be born in Konoha, naturally close to this place, and could be taught from a young age to train as future Jinchuriki.

Yet, a terrifying thing would happen: the strongest power in Konoha would forever be held by the descendants of Namikaze Minato!

Minato's personality might not harbor such intentions, but no one could guarantee his descendants would think the same way.

When that time came, what would the Uchiha, the Hyuga, or the Sarutobi be compared to the Namikaze line holding the Nine-Tails?

And this Namikaze line had deep ties to the Uchiha and the Hyuga Branch Family...

"Hiruzen has crossed the line. He consumes the strength of the Sarutobi while creating the strongest clan in Konoha. We are all from that era; we know the power of Uchiha Madara."

"Minato is close to the Uchiha, and the possibility of his descendants marrying into the Uchiha is not small. If one day, someone is born with those eyes and is also the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Konoha will have no second First Hokage to stop him. He could do whatever he wanted."

"Do you really want to watch Minato gain a firm foothold, act as he pleases in Konoha, and watch the descendants of Namikaze Minato stand at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World?"

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura showed signs of struggle, their hearts actually being swayed.

Minato would certainly not let his descendants suffer the same treatment as Kushina; his son would be the son of the Hokage, the descendant of a hero.

Without the label of Jinchuriki—a status that combined power and danger—and with the identity of being the descendant of the Fourth, how would future high-level officials use various means to control the Jinchuriki?

Dark methods would no longer work. The longer Minato served as Hokage, the better his influence on future generations, making it harder for future Konoha leadership to take action.

They couldn't just rely on emotions like Minato, could they?

Minato's descendants might not buy that, and no one who reached that position believed in emotions.

The concerns raised by Masaaki were likely to become reality. Without the negative stigma of the Jinchuriki status, it was entirely possible for Konoha to be permanently controlled by the Namikaze.

No generation of Hokage could ignore a Namikaze clan that held the status of being the Fourth's descendants while also possessing the Nine-Tails.

Because that represented the strongest power in Konoha!

Compared to Sarutobi, Minato had more potential to become the new Senju...

Even if the other party was only one person!

The two did not wish for such a thing to happen, and the clans they belonged to would never allow it.

However, the trusting entrustment Minato and Hiruzen left behind before departing caused them great inner torment, leaving them unable to voice their agreement for the moment.

Seeing this, the few people behind Sarutobi Mingzheng exchanged glances and revealed smiles.

As expected of Elder Mingzheng, he easily swayed the advisors currently managing the affairs of Konoha.

If these two agreed, there would be no more obstacles to the subsequent actions.

"That kind of eye didn't just have the possibility of being born; it has already been born."

Accompanied by these chilling words, Danzo pushed through the crowd and arrived before the two advisors.

"Just a moment ago, an Uchiha ninja possessing a Mangekyo helped Tsunade overcome her hemophobia."

The people present were stunned at first, and then their expressions changed drastically.

"The Third has such a trump card?"

"Are there any Uchiha ninjas currently alive capable of awakening those eyes?"

"Tsunade combined with a Mangekyo... such a combination..."

Danzo looked at this rabble and sneered inwardly.

If it weren't for the fact that I still need to use you all...

"Koharu, Homura, Hiruzen clearly forgot the teacher's vigilance toward the Uchiha, actually hiding from us that a Mangekyo had been born among them.

The power residing within those Mangekyo eyes can rewrite Tsunade's will, allowing her to overcome her hemophobia; perhaps it could even make us obey his commands.

Do you really still want to stand on Hiruzen's side? The Fourth becoming Hokage... is simply not appropriate!"

Although he had sensed from the fact that Shin left directly that the other party had nothing to do with Hiruzen, Danzo would not let this bargaining chip go to waste.

Danzo's whispers became the final straw that broke the camel's back.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura sighed in unison, and the former asked, "Speak, what do you need us to do?"

Verifying the matter of the Mangekyo would not be difficult; Danzo had no reason to deceive them.

To actually hide such a trump card—it was clear the Third did not trust them.

"First, hand over the command of the Anbu to me."

While Danzo unfolded his plan, on the Hyuga side, the Hyuga Main Family also received the news sent by Danzo.

Accompanying it were the Fission Technique and several bottles of fission auxiliary reagents.

In the meeting room, the various elders of the Main Family looked at the Fission Technique and reagents on the table, glancing at one another.

After a long silence, the Second Elder said in a cold voice, "What a Sarutobi Hiruzen. He told the Clan Head to be wary of Danzo, but now it seems the one we should be most wary of is him!"

"There is no point in discussing this now; it is better to first resolve the Fission Technique. Tsunade can certainly still produce these reagents, and she knows the technique itself. We need to consider a way to make the technique ineffective."

The First Elder finished speaking indifferently and looked toward the calm Hyuga Hiashi in the head seat. "Does the Clan Head have any thoughts?"